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Mission & Purpose

The mission of the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) is to evaluate and certify long-term international student exchange programs at the secondary level.  CSIET accredits only those programs that demonstrate:

  • Commitment to CSIET’s Standards of Excellence;
  • Engagement in the development and sharing of Community Preferred Practices; and
  • Advancement of the educational value of international student exchange.

Purpose

CSIET’s purpose is to cultivate excellence, to facilitate a spirit of cooperation and support, and to help ensure safety and value for international exchange students, secondary schools and natural parents.

 

2023-2026 Strategic Plan

In April 2023, the CSIET Board of Directors finalized the 2023-2026 CSIET Strategic Plan.

CSIET Position Statement on the Benefits of Youth Exchange

The Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) and its listed exchange organizations believe that safe and reputable Youth Exchange provides schools with a concrete means to increase diversity, strengthen instruction, and build programs that imbue students with global competence. Schools that leverage inbound and outbound Youth Exchange are not confined by traditional curricular constructs, but rather, they are empowered by their desire to teach students to navigate the challenges of an increasingly global society. These 21st century schools are well-equipped to sustain themselves as viable places of learning.

Teachers who include exchange students in their lessons often demonstrate compliance with state and local standards. These teachers are likely also to employ dynamic content such as geography, history, foreign language and comparative cultures.

Students who participate in Youth Exchange are called upon to demonstrate growth and maturity. They think critically about other cultures and their own. Whether hosting an exchange student or participating in a program of study abroad, those students who engage in Youth Exchange attain a 21st century skill set that includes, but is not limited to the following:

  • Improved communication
  • Improved problem solving capability
  • Greater knowledge and awareness of other cultures, traditions and customs
  • Improved sense of self and purpose
  • Greater capacity to engage in shared projects
  • Improved critical thinking

Further, CSIET and its listed organizations believe that students who participate in Youth Exichange are more inclined to continue their studies in college. Their level of maturity permits them to identify career goals earlier than their peers, thus bringing about mproved learning environments, lower attrition and higher graduation rates.

Finally, host families are universally enriched by the presence of exchange students in their communities. These students share language, culture and common traditions over meals, vacations, holidays and special occasions. As a result, exchange students and their families often develop positive relationships that endure well into adult life.

Approved by the CSIET Board of Directors, July 2011

Support CSIET

Help CSIET achieve our mission of promoting the importance of international student exchange.

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To Goal of $5K

CSIET is the only organization of its kind that offers support and resources, as well as international education standards, for United States secondary schools interested in hosting international exchange students. As principal of a high performing high school in New Hampshire, we often receive requests from companies interested in placing students in our school. CSIET has been very helpful in that they provide extensive resources, research data, and guidelines to develop and grow a sustainable international student program. More recently, they have also served in a leadership role as schools navigate how to recruit cultural exchange students on J-1 visas, as well as academic fee-paying students on F-1 visas. CSIET continues to lead in the field of international education, and provides all of its members with resources that are relevant and beneficial to all stakeholders.

John House-Myers

Principal, Bow High School, New Hampshire

As Director of Guidance, I am responsible for the enrollment of our international exchange students each year. To ensure that my students are placed in secure homes and that they have the best transitional support possible, I only work with CSIET Listed Programs. Knowing that these programs have been vetted and that they maintain ethical practices is of utmost importance to me.

Kim Kile

Greenfield Central Schools, Indiana

From Standards to statistical reporting, CSIET has been an important resource for us as we shape our policy regarding international student exchange. With the increased presence of international students, I’m glad the independent school community has a place where educators and programs can collect and share practices.

Dr. Richard Dixon

Episcopal High School, Virginia